The Internet is a well-known collection of networks (e.g., public and private data communication and multimedia networks) that work together (cooperate) using common protocols to form a world wide network of networks.
In recent years, the availability of more efficient, reliable and cost-effective computers and networking tools have allowed many companies and individuals (collectively, "users") to become involved in an ever growing electronic marketplace. The immeasurable gains in technology experienced by the computer industry overall have allowed these users to rely on commercially available computers, such as personal computers ("PCS"), to meet their information processing and communication needs. To that end, PC manufacturers equip most PCS with an interface that may be used for communication over networks, such as the Internet.
The Internet continues to increase its position as an integral place for businesses that offers information and services to potential customers. Popular examples of such businesses are news providers (e.g., www.cnn.com (the Cable News Network), www.nytimes.com (the New York Times), www.wsj.com (the Wall Street Journal), www.ft.com (Financial Times Magazine), www.businessweek.com (Business Week Magazine)); car manufacturers (e.g., www.ford.com/us (the Ford Motor Company), www.gm.com (the General Motor Company), www.toyota.com (the Toyota Motor Company)); book stores (e.g., www.amazon.com (Amazon.com books)); software providers (e.g., www.microsoft.com (the Microsoft software company)) and many more.
Most often, such a business sets up a home page on the World Wide Web (a "web-site," the World wide Web is a logical overlay of the Internet). The web-site constitutes an electronically-addressable location that may be used for promoting, advertising and conducting business. Potential electronic customers use web-browsers (e.g., NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR.RTM., MICROSOFT EXPLORER.RTM., etc.) to access the information offered on those web-sites.
An increasing number of web sites offer personalized services that may include "personalized web pages" customized to a user's interests, with hyper-links (a reference or link from some point in one hypertext document to some point in another document or another place in the same document--often displayed in some distinguishing way (e.g., in a different color, font or style)) and displayed messages tailored according to the user's preferences. Such preferences can be ascertained by having a user establish an account with that web-site. This allows the web-site to store information about the user's previous visits, either by tracking the hyper-links the user followed or through explicit dialogs with the user. For example, the Wall Street Journal provides a "personalized journal" to each user, where the sequence and selection of sections is customized. In order to open an account, the user typically has to complete a form electronically, providing a user name, a password, an electronic-mail ("e-mail") address, etc. The latter is often used by the web-site to send back information not provided on the web-site itself to the user.
Given the inherent lack of privacy of electronic communication over the Internet generally, and, particularly, the World Wide Web, it has long been felt that a system that could ensure private electronic communication would be highly advantageous. As an example of the problem, consider the plight of a customer that would like to browse the World Wide Web in a safe and private (anonymous) manner, visiting sites that provide personalized service. The customer would like to establish accounts on web-sites without revealing his true identity, and without reusing the same user names, passwords, for multiple sites. Customers should refrain from reusing the same user names and passwords at multiple sites to avoid a security breach at one site to affect other sites; additionally refraining from using such user names and passwords limits the ability of multiple sites from colluding to combine customer information and build dossiers on particular customers.
Typically, the customer visits many of these web-sites, and inventing and remembering new user names and passwords for each web-site becomes tedious. Moreover, many of these web-sites require the customer to include his e-mail address with his user name and password--by providing his e-mail address, the customer reveals his identity.
In addition, there are commercial products available that allow web-sites to track their clients and visitors. Such tracking can be made even when no voluntary information is provided by the user and no form is filled out. Examples of such systems are "Webreporter," which is available from OPENMARKET, INC., and "SiteTrack," which is available from GROUP CORTEX, whose advertisement reads as follows:
"Identify who is visiting your site. Record the actual number of people that visit. Find which links they follow and trace their complete path. Learn which site users came from and which site they depart to . . . "
These products are made possible because the hypertext transport protocol ("HTTP-protocol"), on which the World Wide Web is largely based, allows specific information to flow back from the user to the web-site. This can include for example, the user's e-mail address, the last web-site he came from, and information about the user's software and host-computer. Other pertinent user information may be sent by the web-site to the user browser using what are commonly referred to as "cookies" (pieces of information that web-sites may store at the user's browser). On subsequent visits to the web-site, the user's browser sends back information to the web-site without the user's knowledge.
From the foregoing, it is apparent that what is needed in the art is a scheme that provides anonymous personalized web browsing that satisfies two seemingly conflicting objectives, namely, providing user privacy and user identification.